"This is honestly quite staggering. There’s never been a case quite like yours, if I have to be honest. The recovery seems to have started to slow down, but the fact that you’ve managed to recover to this point in itself is a wonder. If..."
The doctor stopped himself, his expression shifting slightly as he lifted his glasses.
Quietly staring at the monitor in front of him and the patient sitting on the bed, with numerous wires attached to her head, he hesitated.
"...Go on."
Her quiet voice pressed across the entire room.
"Finish what you were going to say."
"That’s..."
"Doctor, please. You know me well. It’s been a while. Just say what you need to say. I won’t get offended."
"That’s not the case."
The doctor shook his head and turned around. His expression was rather serious.
"All I’m saying is that what has happened to you is unnatural. I need a bit more time to test this situation and make sure there are no side effects. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as a miracle drug. But there’s also no denying the reality that is before our very eyes. For that reason, I’d tread carefully. But..."
The doctor paused again, his deep eyes staring straight at Soran, who stared back at him with a half-smile.
"But...?"
It was as if she already knew what he was about to say but was trying to tease the words out.
And as expected, the doctor’s expression turned slightly troubled.
Soran’s smile grew, and just as her lips were about to part, the doctor spoke up.
"...Based on your current state, if you truly wish to go out and engage in your previous work, there shouldn’t be too much trouble, so long as you don’t push yourself too hard."
Soran’s half-smile turned into a full-blown smile as she stared at the doctor. Reaching for the wires attached to her head, she removed the adhesive and slowly sat up.
"That’s wonderful news, isn’t it?"
The doctor didn’t reply. Nor was he planning to, as Soran kept talking.
"And here I thought I’d be forced to retire. But this is great!"
She cracked a laugh.
The doctor raised his glasses.
"I’d like to re-emphasize what I previously said... there’s no such thing as a miracle drug. You should tread carefully, as something unexpected might occur when you least expect it. I suggest you test things out here and there before going all out."
"Haha, don’t worry, doctor."
Removing all of the remaining wires, Soran moved closer to the doctor as she patted him on the shoulder and offered him a friendly smile.
"You can say that this is like some sort of lifeline for me. There’s no way I’m going to throw it away~ I’ll be sure to be careful."
"...I hope that’s the case."
"Come on!"
Soran slapped the back of the doctor.
"Huek!"
"Why does it sound like you have such little faith in me? I know how to hold myself back."
"I... hope that’s the case," the doctor replied with a half-hearted smile, his hand reaching for his back as he massaged it, grimacing at the lingering pain from Soran’s slap. At the same time, his expression turned even more serious as Soran was just about to leave.
"...They’ve asked me about your condition."
Soran’s steps paused.
She didn’t turn.
"I didn’t tell them the full situation. I said that you were doing better, but that’s all I said."
"....."
A strange silence filled the entire room as Soran remained where she was.
In the end, she turned around, looked at the doctor, and smiled.
"You did well."
That was all she said before leaving the area. However, the moment she turned around, her smile was wiped from her face, all trace of playfulness gone from her expression.
"You’ve created quite the mess, Guild Master."
She muttered to herself, her heels clicking against the otherwise quiet corridor.
"...It seems all the snakes have started to come out of their holes."
***
"Squad Leader? Squad Leader?"
"Is everything alright, Squad Leader?"
"Hey! Hey!"
I was awoken by the sound of numerous voices. Before I could fully react, something grabbed my shoulders and shook me, pulling me abruptly from my thoughts.
"Don’t die! Don’t die!"
I realized rather quickly that it was Mia as I brushed her hands off.
"Stop. What are you doing?"
Everyone immediately stopped. Feeling their numerous stares on me, I frowned.
"What’s going on with you? Why are you all staring at me?"
"What do you mean, why?"
Ariel was the first to speak up, her brows furrowed as she stared at me. It felt as though she was looking at someone sick.
"All of a sudden, your face went pale, and you stopped answering us. It was like you’d just seen a ghost."
A ghost...?
I blinked slowly.
Well, it wasn’t far off.
I thought back to the words given to me by the system. My heart skipped a beat as I did, my expression nearly crumbling as I desperately tried not to let it show.
Me...? When?
And if I did, what were the chances that I was now a patient like the others?
That all of this was a dream?
My head immediately lifted as I stared in Geneva’s direction. She was also staring at me, just like the others.
I licked my lips and asked, "You previously mentioned that there’s a possibility that they might be dreaming. If... any of us were to get stuck in such a dream, how would one be able to tell whether they were in a dream or not?"
"...You can’t."
Geneva answered without missing a single beat.
"And that’s the problem."
Her eyes remained fixed on me.
"You’ll never know if you’ve fallen into a dream or not. That’s the scariest aspect of 1048... You just don’t know."
My jaw tightened on its own.
Fuck.
"Why?"
Geneva tilted her head.
"Do you think that you’ve already fallen victim to it?"